Love Listens

February 14, 2019

Romance looms large in the Bailey household. Nothing says “I love you” quite like forty eight feet of bedroom baseboard, installed. Yep. You heard it right. Linda has been wanting me to finish that baseboard for four years, ever since we moved in. I had a stash, but not quite enough to finish, so I finally gave in and while in town together (her gift to me), we bought enough to do the entire room. Both of us are thankful. She got the baseboard, I got one more project checked off my to do list.

Young love thrives on stuff like cards and candy. That’s all OK, but it can’t hold a candle to the settled contentment of nearly fifty years together. We do the cards, skip the candy, and go straight for the heart by listening to the small hints and offhand remarks that reveal what would please the other. Soft lighting and music, sitting together watching the flames dance in the wood stove can conjure up notions of romance, but without listening, love can die faster than the fire in the stove. 

What is true of human love is true also of divine love. God listens to our hearts even when we can’t figure out our own passions and longings. If we’re wise, we will in turn listen to God’s heart. That’s what love does, and it deepens the more we listen. Listening is an art, a skill that improves with practice, whether it’s a husband and wife listening to each other, or a believer listening to God. Psalm 46:10 is still true today, “Be still, and know that I am God.” I am thankful tonight for the years Linda and I have been given together, learning to listen to each other instead of what our culture says ought to be. In learning to listen to each other, we’ve also learned a bit about listening to God. That’s a good thing.